After trailing at the half at home against Louisana Lafayette last weekend, Texas A&M will hit the road to face off against Arkansas in Arlington this weekend. While the Aggies dominated the second half against ULL, earning a 45-21 win in the process, a similarly slow start against the Razorbacks may be too much to overcome.

In a game featuring two of the most disgruntled fan bases in the league, the loser of this game may not be welcome on the campus for much longer.

During his appearance on the weekly SEC Coaches Teleconference, Kevin Sumlin talked about the matchup. Here’s a summary of what was said during the call:

  • We were able to play a lot of guys last week. I thought we made some strides considering the guys we were able to play. It was good for our team and looking forward to playing Arkansas.
  • How aggressive do you prefer John Chavis to be, especially vs Arkansas in the past? You have to like it. We’ve evolved on defense, due to the personnel that we have, we’ve adapted to our personnel and I think he’s doing a good job with it.
  • On never losing to Arkansas: Come on, every game is mutually exclusive. There will be guys that play that never played in this game, on both sides of the ball.
  • How will you prepare for Austin Allen now that you’ve seen him once before? He’s a really good player. He stood in there and took a number of hits vs us. He’s a really good football player, I said that yesterday. He can make moves, throw on the run. I think he is one of the better QBs in our league.
  • How has Kellen Mond progressed? He’s gotten better every week. Started the last two games really hot and that starts with playcalling and giving him what he likes. With young QBs, it’s not about what they like, it’s about what they don’t like and not making them do that. His role will increase every week as he continues to progress. We have a better feel for him and he was a better feel of the offense.
  • How do you see Arkansas’ defense being different this season? I have a ton of respect for Paul Rhoads. Where they are in total defense, I think they lead the league in not giving up big plays. That’s against a very talented TCU team.
  • Mond’s progression off the field: I don’t know that that has anything to do with playing football. He’s getting better, every week is a step for him. Every practice is a step for him. There’s a lot more to it than just the QB, everyone around him has to help. For him, he’s the guy and he’s come to grips with that and that makes a difference. He’s more comfortable with that than he was last week.